Free Raven Investigation 04 - Electric Legend by Stacey Brutger Page A

“Run!”
    In the next second, three shots echoed in the glen.
    Taggert staggered and something inside her crumbled.
    It took her precious seconds for her to realize that she
scented no blood.
    He wasn’t dead.
    She blinked to see three red darts sticking out of his chest.
    They’d drugged him. They wanted him alive. He lifted an arm,
swiping away the darts, but it was much too late, the poison already coursing
through his system.
    She sprinted toward him, refused to leave him behind.
    Taggert growled when she wrapped her arms around his waist.
“I told you to run.”
    “Not happening.” They pushed deeper into the forest, the
circus offering no sanctuary. Even hampered, they moved faster than any human.
Unfortunately, the shadowy forms hovering in the darkness easily kept pace.
    Without her beast, she was useless. Heart hammering against
her chest, she gathered her power when the dragon pressed down on her chest, smothering
every ounce of current.
    Raven was devastated by the betrayal.
    Before she could grab the damned beast and demand answers,
the bitch slithered back into her bones and vanished. The dragon obviously
wanted her to stay, but no amount of probing would tell her why.
    She understood the beast wanted to protect her by keeping their
secret, but the dragon would never put her men at risk without a reason.
    “Stop.” Taggert squeezed her waist until she had no air
left. He slowed to a jarring stumble, his hold on her weakening. “Leave me.”
    Raven shook her head, prepared to be just as stubborn, and
he shoved her away. “They will use you against us. You have to escape.”
    Everything in her rebelled at the idea, but she knew he was
right. If they took her, her pack would all be trapped. If she left, she could
come back for them, but it didn’t make abandoning them any easier to swallow.
    Her chest burned as she took a step away from him, the
action so painful, it felt like she was being gutted by a butter knife.
    Two large shifters stepped out of the darkness, not remotely
human, both stuck in transition like werewolves of old with furry legs, snout,
teeth and claws galore.
    A human followed a few paces behind, a soldier by his
bearing, his cold gaze freezing her insides solid. He held a gun in his grip
and could’ve easily shot her. Instead, he waved to the men, malicious glee in
his eyes. “Get the woman.”
    Both werewolves lifted their guns in a blur, obeying as if
the man were their master, their spirits completely broken.
    No way could she elude them without the help of her beast or
magic.
    Time slowed.
    Their fingers tightened on the trigger.
    Then the darts shot through the air.
    Even as she dropped to the ground, she waited for the
piercing pain from the darts.
    Instead, Taggert lunged in front of her.
    He grunted as the tiny missiles struck true.
    He swayed on his feet, his eyes dilating until they were
nearly black. His beast processed the drug as fast as it could, but there was
just too much.
    Raven scrambled to her feet as he dropped to his knees. Her
arms ached to catch him, demand he come with her. She almost gave in when his
eyes heated with anger, his wolf ready to lunge at her to get her moving. “Go.”
    She instinctively took a step back.
    He’d sacrificed himself for her and wouldn’t forgive her if
she stayed. She needed to be free so she could rescue them.
    With one last look, Raven took off running.
    She heard grunting and chanced a glance behind her in time
to see Taggert tackle the two men who’d given chase. He fought dirty, taking
the men down long enough for her to gain ground. Running full speed, she
focused on escape.
    A small shape straightened from behind a car, leaping over
the vehicle in a single bound, landing directly into her path. The thrill of
the chase had stripped the werewolf of what little humanity he had left. There
was no reasoning behind his eyes, pure predator staring back at her.
     Raven tensed as he raised a gun but didn’t slow down. A
little